Agartala, June 2 (TIWN): Tripura Mahila Congress on Monday reiterated the demand for introducing social security pension and compensation for sexual assault victims and said that the state’s ruling Left Front miserably failed to contain social crimes in the past two decades of steady left rule.

Addressing the media at the Pradesh Congress Bhawan at Agartala this afternoon, Pradesh Mahila Congress vice president Hena Sengupta said that Chief Minister Manik Sarkar exuded visible detachment from sympathizing with the sexual assault victims. “Has the CM gone even once to visit the victims? He visited one of the sexual assault victims once when he visited a hospital to visit a separate patient. That’s what we call accident”, Sengupta said.

Former minister and corporator of the Agartala Municipal Corporation Basana Debnath said that a team of Mahila Congress leaders including vice president Hena Sengupta, general secretary Manihar Debbarma and others visited the residence of a teen from Sarat Choudhury Para under Sidhai police station. The teen was reportedly called out of her home by her classmate on April 20 to attend marriage ceremony of a common friend. The girl returned home three days later with clear indications of heavy sedation, Debnath said. She said that dialogues with the victim’s family members revealed that the girl was repeatedly raped in at least four locations.

Voicing high concern at the repeated incidents of crime on women, the Mahila Congress today issued warning to girls and suggested to avoid high exposure to cellular telephony, unrestricted contacts with male friends. The Congress women cell stressed on increasing role of parental strictures as well.

“It is frustrating to see that the government is silent over the entire issue, blaming social degeneration and loss of moral values for such incidents. How can moral values degrade in an ideal government’s rule?” Debnath quipped. She added that stricter punishments can be helpful in setting precedents that would stop further escalation of the situation.

“Our conviction rate is miserable and is growing further low. We feel the judiciary and policing should become more pro-active in this issue”, she said.

Stats released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) in 2013 said that incidence of rape kept steadily increasing over the past three years. The figures stood at 24,923 cases in 2012 from 24,206 in 2011 and 22,172 in the previous year. In Sharp contrast to the situation, conviction rates in rapes dropped down to 24.2 percent in 2012 from 26.4 percent in 2011.

A study shows that impressive conviction rates were achieved by few states from the northeastern region like 82.4 percent in Mizoram, 72.1 percent in Nagaland, 50 percent in Sikkim and 46.7 percent in Meghalaya. However, Tripura recorded barely 14.7 percent conviction rate in a similar timeframe.